and an art worth your learning.."
Presented from Issue 112, October 2014
So said Izaak Walton in the 1600s. It seems that Burnie’s Hannah Ledger has combined angling with art rather well. Hannah is a fish fanatic, outdoor enthusiast and budding, self-taught artist. From as young as she can remember, she has always had crayon in hand, colouring book under arm and as she’s grown as a painter, jars full of paintbrushes and cupboards full of ready-to-go blank canvas’.
A country girl at heart, Hannah was schooled at Yolla District High School, a small ‘farm’ school in the states North West, then went on to Hellyer College where she was given the opportunity to really grow her art skills; And by grow, that meant skipping the classes that would probably have more an impact of getting her somewhere in life, like English and Math to spend every spare minute with the art teacher, painting or drawing.
As typical teenagers do, they make poor decisions- and after being accepted in to one of the countries top art schools, turned down the offer and decided to move to the big island, where she lived for 5 years working in what seemed ‘dead end’ retail.
Read more ...Please check all relevant authorities before fishing - www.ifs.tas.gov.au and dpipwe.tas.gov.au . Don't forget issuu.com/stevenspublishing for years of back issues !
Presented from Issue 115, April 2015
I don’t think we can really start talking about what May and June will bring for fishing in Tasmania without first talking about what has been happening in the Tasmanian game fishing scene recently. Tasmania has gone off, particularly the lower East coast. Bicheno has seen some battles with big yellowfin tuna with a few sad results.
Talking to one angler with years of experience he had a tale of woe. It was a day like any other off the 80 metre mark just off the top side of the Gulch, looking very fishy. The skipper decided to put in a small spread and troll out to the shelf. He had on a couple of tried and true albacore lures that had never let him down. This one particular lure he mentioned he had…. HAD.. for over 15 years. They had only been trolling for 10 minutes when the reel screamed off in earnest and within an instant they knew there was a big fish heading home with lure in mouth. They battled this fish for an hour before sighting it at the back of the boat. That’s when things got exciting !
Read more: Game On - May & June - The two best game fishing months - Kelly Hunt
Presented from Issue 115, April 2015
As April and May progress the days are shorter and they for one thing sure are colder. But the trout angler in many of us still ‘needs’ to head up top chasing those that challenge us.
End of season trout should, as a general rule, be hungry. Either pre or post-spawn. They generally feed well pre-spawn. Feeding before they move up the many streams, creeks, rivers and canals that provide the breeding grounds. The process sees the trout with little or no food for some time hence the need to add condition for energy during this very strenuous spawning period.
Read more: Short cold trouty days - Bright colours bring results - Justin Causby
Presented from Issue 115, April 2015
Well this season is passing before my eyes. Maybe I’ve been working too conscientiously, but for some reason I have fished less this last season than in recent years. There are still some golden Autumn fishing to be had, if I can make it out there, but even here on the mainland, where the rivers are open until early June, the dry fly action slows right down by the end of April. With that in mind, I’m already thinking of what I might do differently next season.
Read more: Starting over - Fish more - Catch less - Nick Taransky
Presented from Issue 115, April 2015
While the action on the saltwater has been okay, the Tasmanian trout season has been far from great. Over the summer, I have fished many of the highland lakes, using both dry fly and micro-sized plastics. Although some of my trips have been productive, there have been many trips where I have put in long hours and plenty of effort, for only a few fish. It is with particular sadness, that Arthurs Lake - my favourite place to fish, has also let me down on a number of occasions. As with any fishing trip, I always endeavour to find a ‘silver lining’, and for me it has been that the few fish I have caught were noticeably larger, and in better condition, than the ones I caught the previous year.
Read more: Last cast - End of season soft plastic tips - Michal Rybka
The southern calamari and squid fisheries will be closed to recreational and commercial fishing on Tasmania's north coast from 1 - 31 October 2018 inclusive.
The closure of the entire North Coast is to protect spawning calamari. During the closure period, taking or possessing calamari and other squid species is prohibited in the closed area - see map below.
Dates for the annual calamari closure in upper south east coast waters including Great Oyster Bay and Mercury Passage are unchanged, from 15 October to 14 November inclusive.
An introduced soft-shell clam was recently detected on a beach near Orford in south east Tasmania. Biosecurity Tasmania is now managing the incursion of this species in accordance with national marine pest protocols. For more information see the Biosecurity Tasmania website.
From today, Wednesday 11 July, taking and possessing soft shelled clams in state waters is prohibited. This is to help prevent the spread of the clam to other areas.
If you sight a suspected soft-shell clam, do not move it, instead contact Biosecurity Tasmania on phone 6165 3777 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.?. A photo will assist with identification.
Facebook Instagram
Recreational Fisheries Section, DPIPWE
Phone: 1300 720 647
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Web: www.fishing.tas.gov.au
with members of the 2018 Australian Commonwealth Fly Fishing Team, in association with Hayes on Brumbys - Cressy, Tasmania.
Join members of the Australian Fly Fishing Team for a coaching and guiding clinic in Tasmania. We request a $1200 donation (tax deductible through the Australian Sports Foundation) includes expenses - accomodation and meals @ Hayes on Brumbys.
Please note there are a limited number of participants!
Read more: Fly Fish Australia Inc. - Fly Fishing Coaching and Guiding Weekend 2018
Presented from Issue 115, April 2015
Heading home I take a hand off the wheel every now and then, rub my index finger over my thumb and smile.
Torn skin rough from lip gripping seven or more giant flathead. Picked up, photographed, and slipped back into Duck Bay.
A mission ‘long dreamed’, since the first time I pulled up at the jetty in Smithton a few years back. “Jeez. This looks fishy.”
And so, on a late-March weekend it happened. I’d found time away from the family, pieced together a little bit of local knowledge, cruised the web. Mike printed out satellite pics of low tide – the mysterious waterway undressed, exposing oyster leases, channels and drains.
Read more: Flathead frenzy - Two blokes tackle Duck Bay looking for large flathead - Leon Compton
Presented from Issue 115, April 2015
Lots of anglers seem to be deeply challenged when it comes to selecting that first soft plastic to tie on at a new location, or even to start a new day’s fishing at a well-known spot. In this feature I want to share with you some basic rules of thumb that will greatly ease the burden of this important decision making process:
Over the course of a year, I get to talk to a lot of soft plastics fishers from around the country. Some I meet at seminars and shows. Others I chat with via the various pages on Facebook that I run or help to administer (especially the StarloFishing and Squidgy Soft Plastics pages), or through my blogs on www.starlofishing.com Still others send their letters or emails to me via the various magazines I write for. However, no matter what the source of the enquiry, one question (or variations of it) dominates the calls for advice that I receive. Typically, that query begins with the words: “What’s the best soft plastic to use for…?”
Read more: Choosing the right soft plastic - Steve ‘Starlo’ Starling
Presented from Issue 115, April 2015
The boys had been pestering me for quite some time, ‘dad can we go out to Port Sorell and have a fish off the jetty soon’. Admittedly I had been trying to put it off, I didn’t like to tell them but I was a bit out of my comfort zone with the whole jetty/saltwater fishing thing. I could happily take them anywhere in the state and confidently fish for a trout or two, but this was different. But and it was a big but, the time had come to give them what they wanted. Please keep in mind as you read on that I am merely just a fly fisherman who loves his trout with virtually no conventional gear saltwater experience. But, I am a father who wants his two boys to grow up experiencing as many different fishing opportunities as possible. Then they can decide which fishing path they want to wander thru life exploring.
Back issues of Tasmanian Fishing and Boating News are available at Issuu
Issue 131 from February is available for free to read at Issuu
Click above for current issue content. The current issue of TFBN is extensive and topical. In Tackle Stores, Newsagents and by subscription.
Delivered to your door for $48 for 2 years (8 issues). To subscribe, send Mike $48 via www.paypal.com.au . (Basic instructions are here) The email is at Contact Us. Your address will be included from PayPal.
Or phone Mike with your c/c handy on 0418129949
Please ensure your details are correct, for Mike to organise delivery.
When you have finished for the day, why not have a brag about the ones that didn't get away! Send Mike an article on your fishing (Click here for contact details), and we'll get it published here. Have fun fishing - tasfish.com
Here is a list of all of the Article Categories. The number in Brackets, eg (13) is the number of articles. Click on Derwent River and all articles relating to the Derwent will be displayed in the central area.
Visit https://www.windyty.com/
Hello everyone, I thought it would be a good time to introduce myself.
My name is Stephen Smith and I have been managing the website tasfish.com since May 2009.
It has been an epic journey of learning and discovery and I am indebted to Mike Stevens for his help, support and patience.
I am developing a new venture Rubicon Web and Technology Training ( www.rwtt.com.au ). The focus is two part, to develop websites for individuals and small business and to train people to effectively use technology in their everyday lives.
Please contact me via www.rwtt.com.au/contact-me/ for further information - Stephen Smith.
Mike Fry doesn’t only live on the Wild Side of Tasmania, but also goes fishing in probably the wildest boat ever to troll for trout—certainly in Tasmania.
When your mate says ‘What are you doing tomorrow, want to come up the Gordon for the night?’ it would be pretty hard to say anything else except “you bet” and start checking out your tackle box and packing your overnight bag. But if your mate was Troy Grining and he wanted to give his new 52ft, high speed cruiser a run across Macquarie Harbour, test the new onboard dory with a chance of landing a nice Gordon River Brown you would have to feel privileged. I didn’t say anything about getting on my hands and knees and kissing his feet…just having a lend of ya’ but I did feel very appreciative.